The Trinamool Congress marched ahead of its rivals in the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and the Ballygunge assembly segment by-polls.
The by-polls, which took place on April 12, were necessitated as Supriyo resigned as the MP of Asansol after switching over to the TMC from the BJP, while state minister Subrata Mukherjee, who represented Ballygunge, died last year. A total of 15 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district, while 2.5 lakh people could vote in south Kolkata’s Ballygunge. The counting exercise began at 8 am amid tight security.
Ballygunge (West Bengal), Khairagarh (Chhattisgarh), Bochahan (Bihar), and Kolhapur North (Maharashtra) were the four assembly constituencies that went to polls. One Lok Sabha seat where election was held is Asansol, West Bengal.
The Asansol seat became vacant after BJP member Babul Supriyo resigned and joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The TMC fielded Babul Supriyo for the Ballygunge assembly seat, where he will face BJP’s Keya Ghosh and CPI-Saira M’s Shah Halim. The TMC won this seat in the 2021 assembly elections, but its sitting MLA, Subrata Mukherjee, died in November last year, necessitating by-elections.
The TMC has chosen actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha to represent Asansol in the Lok Sabha. He is going up against Agnimitra Paul of the BJP.
A byelection was held in Khairagarh assembly seat due to the death of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) MLA Devvrat Singh. In this case, voter turnout was 78 percent. The postal ballots will be counted first, followed by the EVM.
The counting will continue for 21 rounds on 14 tables. Ten candidates ran for the Khairagarh assembly seat, but the fight was expected to be between Yashoda Verma of the Congress and Komal Janghel of the BJP. The Election Commission had announced byelections for these seats on March 12.
Elections became necessary in Kolhapur North assembly seat after sitting Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav died of Covid in December of last year. There was a 60 percent turnout on Tuesday. There were 15 candidates running for this seat, but the contest was expected to be between the Congress and the BJP. In Maharashtra, the Congress is a constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
